December 9, 2019 Illinois Baptist

Illinois Baptist

A tap of the gavel

Caps an influential season Reporter’s Notebook P. 6

Christians targeted

Global trend is growing

India | Regaining consciousness after attackers left him for dead in his house church in eastern India, Pastor Basant Kumar Paul proclaimed he no longer fears persecution and is certain of his heavenly home.

“My physical body might be weak, but my spirit is very strong, it will not break with persecution,” Morning Star News quoted Paul Nov. 22. “They tried to kill me twice, I was almost dead, but I still did not die. I will not die until the Lord calls me back home. This assurance drives away all my fears.”

Paul is among an estimated 65 million Christians facing increased persecution in India, a nation of 1.4 billion. Persecution

The Persecuted church

IN FOCUS: What the world needs this Christmas. Starts on P. 7

The Illinois Baptist staff

Editor - Eric Reed

Managing Editor - Meredith Flynn

Graphic Designer - Kris Kell

Contributing Editor - Lisa Misner

Administrative Assistant - Leah Honnen

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Understanding the world where we live and serve

Church needed here...

Location: South Deering

Focus: Hispanic community

Characteristics: Located on Chicago’s far south side, South Deering is the largest of the city’s official community areas. Latinos represent around 30% of the population.

Prayer needs: A Hispanic church planter for South Deering should be bilingual, and his congregation should focus on Gen Z and Millennials.

– IBSA’s Mobilization Team

CONVENTIONAL WISDOM

Snapshots from the world of Illinois Baptists

The vast majority of young adults feels the impact of broad, global trends more than they feel loved and supported by others close to them, according to the Barna research group.

Connected generation?

Barna surveyed more than 15,000 adults ages 18 to 35:

Events around the world matter to me.

I feel connected to people around the world.

77%

NATE ADAMS

Our family’s Christmas miracle

If you have children still at home, or perhaps grandchildren for whom you care, you may have experienced occasions when they didn’t want to go to church. As frustrating as that can be, the feeling of disappointment and concern reaches a new level when those children are adults.

That’s where we found ourselves as parents a few years ago, as Christmas approached. Our son had been raised in our devoted family, knew the Bible well, had been active in church even as a teenager, and eventually attended and excelled at a strong Christian college. But after graduation, he reluctantly but firmly told us he just didn’t believe what we believe any more.

Those months between graduation and Christmas were heavy ones for us as parents. After a brief summer internship in Nashville, our son returned home to live with us while he looked for his first career job. During that time, we took a father-son trip to climb five Colorado mountains, and I asked him to be my driver to several fall associational meetings.

Whenever we had extended time together, I sought to turn the conversation to spiritual things, and to understanding why Christian faith was no longer compelling to him. Those discussions were always respectful, carefully worded, intellectually intense, and ultimately non-persuasive.

So when the last Sunday before Christmas rolled around, our son was dutiful at best about attending. And frankly, I don’t remember anything particularly remarkable about that morning’s worship service, other than its obvious Christmas theme. But during that worship service, God gripped our son’s heart, and convinced him that He is real, and holy.

That encounter sent my cerebral son back into the Bible, and to prayer, this time with eyes of faith and a heart ready to believe. When he assembled our family, he joyfully announced his faith, and apologized for the pain and concern he knew he had caused us.

For us, that period of deep parental concern that seemed so endless and deep at the time now seems like a brief dream. We now watch our son love his family, and lead a small group at his church, and pursue friends who don’t yet know the Lord, all with thoughtful faith that is somehow richer for the depths of his doubt.

I don’t tell this story of our family’s Christmastime miracle a lot, but it seems that whenever I do, I hear from a number of parents who are deeply concerned for their own wayward children or grandchildren. Often they ask what we did, or what they can do, to hasten the return of their prodigal child.

57% 33%

I often feel deeply cared for by those around me.

I often feel someone believes in me.

32%

the cooperative program

– Barna, Oct. 2019

Giving by IBSA churches as of 11/29/19 $5,409,546

Budget Goal: $5,603,846

Received to date in 2018: $5,171,183

2019 Goal: $6.3 Million

My honest response is that neither my wife nor I controlled in any way our son’s return to faith, or the timing of it. We did do our best to preserve a good relationship, and to communicate a motive of sincere love, both verbally and non-verbally. And we did continue to have spiritual conversations that were gentle, but persistent, when the moment seemed right. Our son would later say how much it meant to him that we “pursued” him, even when he acted like he didn’t want that.

But no one was more surprised than me that a seemingly routine Christmas service at a small Baptist church was the vehicle and the moment that God would choose to break through to the hardened heart of one of the most important people in my life. Our gracious Lord providentially chooses those moments, just as he did his own arrival that first Christmas. But my testimony is that those moments do come, and that they are worth all the pain, and the prayer, and the pursuit, and the wait.

Nate Adams is executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association. Respond at IllinoisBaptist@IBSA.org.

God’s chosen moment was worth the pain, prayer, and waiting.

From the front: FAITH UNDER FIRE

Continued from page 1

is spiking under extreme rightwing Hindu nationalism encouraged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), according to reports from across the Asian nation.

Open Doors USA reports that millions of Christians across the globe experience high levels of persecution for their faith. The watchdog group publishes a World Watch List in January of the top 50 countries for Christian persecution. The countries on the 2019 list represent 245 million Christians.

Open Doors reports 4,136 Christians in the 50 countries were killed for faith-related reasons—an average of 11 people per day. Additionally, more than 2,600 Christians were detained without trial, arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned, and more than 1,200 churches or Christian buildings were attacked.

In India—10th on the World Watch List— new security measures issued as recently as Nov. 6 make it “nearly impossible” for Christian congregations to meet in some places, Morning Star reported.

“The view of the nationalists is that to be Indian is to be Hindu, so any other faith— including Christianity—is considered nonIndian,” Open Doors said. “Additionally, in some regions of the country, converts to Christianity from Hinduism experience extreme persecution, discrimination, and violence.”

India is the world’s second most populous country. The first, China, is ranked 27th on this year’s World Watch List. Christians aren’t the only religious group persecuted in the country. Around one million Muslims reportedly are being held in Chinese internment camps designed to make them loyal members of the Communist Party.

The Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission has called for the U.S. government to hold China accountable for religious freedom abuses. At the 2019 Southern Baptist Convention, Baptists approved a resolution condemning China’s Communist Party for their “extreme religious persecution and flagrant human rights violations.”

Risking everything

At the IBSA Annual Meeting in November, missionaries Cody and Ava shared about the “people without peace” whom they serve in a place where more than 99% of the population identify as Muslim. “We desire to see a church planting movement among these people without peace,” the

missionaries said, using assumed names to protect their identity and their witness in the country.

Where they serve, Cody said, there are barriers to the gospel, and penalties for people who become Christians. Ava is going to school to be a midwife. She asked Illinois Baptists to pray for open doors to share the gospel with women in their country.

Their reward is being able to walk with the people they serve, Cody said. “God rewards obedience.”

In India, Pastor Paul and other family members are being investigated for holding church services in his home where about 35 gather for worship, Morning Star reported. Paul’s is the only Christian family in his village, but others come from as far as 12 miles away to worship in his home.

In the attack on his family, eight extremists entered his home and beat Paul until they thought he was dead, beating his family members as each tried to help. Among injuries, attackers broke Paul’s son’s leg and hit his mother and brother in the head with axes, Paul said.

The pastor said he would have been scared to face such persecution in the early years of his faith. “I have faced so much opposition from my own family, my clan, and from the [Hindu extremist group] Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, where I was deeply involved as a teacher before I came to Christ, that I have become immune to persecution now,” he told Morning Star. “I am not scared of persecution anymore.”

– From Baptist Press reports, with reporting from the Illinois Baptist

Persecution rising

Chinese church destroyed

Police arrived at a megachurch in the eastern province of Anhui Oct. 18 and demolished the church (left) before members and leaders could save any property or belongings, ChinaAid reported. Days later, police detained the church’s pastors, Geng Yimin and Sun Yongyao, on suspicion of “gathering a crowd to disturb social order,” ChinaAid said.

At the church, which holds 3,000 people, members kneeled and begged officials not to destroy the church, or to at least let them retrieve their property. ChinaAid has reported three additional church demolitions since the one in Anhui.

“This is yet another clear example showing the escalation of religious persecution today by the Chinese Communist regime,” ChinaAid President Bob Fu said in a press release. “The total disregard of religious freedom’s protection as enshrined in the Communist Party’s own Constitution tells the whole world President Xi [Jinping] is determined to continue his war against the peaceful Christian faithful. This campaign will surely fail in the end.”

‘Barbaric attack’ in Burkina Faso

Fourteen people were killed and several more injured when gunmen opened fire during a worship service Dec. 1. President Roch Marc Christian Kabore condemned “the barbaric attack” on the church in Hantoukoura. Christianity Today reports Islamic extremists have been active in Burkina Faso since 2015, recently striking in the eastern region of the country.

An attack on an Assemblies of God congregation in April was considered the first church attack in a surge of Islamist violence, CT reported last spring. The shooting in the northern town of Silgadji left six people dead, including the church’s pastor.

Government restrictions increase

A Pew Forum study found that over the decade between 2007 and 2017, government restrictions on religion increased around the world. According to Pew, 52 countries had high or very high levels of government restriction on religion in 2017, compared to 40 countries 10 years earlier.

The most prevalent kinds of restrictions are laws and policies that restrict religious freedom and government favoritism of religious groups, Pew reported. Both increased over the decade in question. The prevalence of limits on religious activities and government harassment of religious groups are somewhat lower, Pew said, but still on the rise.

– Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Pew Forum

– ChinaAid

Out of the fryer…

The charitable giving of one of America’s most popular fast food chains sparked a national debate in November. Chick-Fil-A announced Nov. 18 they would no longer give to Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Salvation Army, two groups that have been criticized for what opponents say are anti-LGBTQ policies.

The giving shift struck some Christians and conservatives as caving to a particular political agenda, while others defended ChickFil-A’s decision to focus on a smaller number of organizations dedicated to education, combating youth homelessness, and reducing hunger. Evangelist Franklin Graham called Chick-Fil-A CEO Dan Cathy and then reported on Facebook that the chicken chain hasn’t backed away from their Christian views. “Chick-fil-A remains committed to Christian values. Dan Cathy assured me that this isn’t going to change.”

Conservative leader James Dobson said Cathy’s assurance was comforting, but wondered in a column for The Christian Post what was intended by the chain’s earlier announcement. He and conservative Christians across the country “are awaiting further clarification,” Dobson said.

Prevention guide released

A Southern Baptist advisory group on sexual abuse has created a new resource for churches and ministries seeking to prevent abuse and care well for survivors. “The Introductory Guide to Caring Well” includes information on preparing church leadership for disclosure by an abuse victim, screening and training volunteers and staff members, and implementing policies to protect vulnerable people.

The guide, part of a multi-pronged response to sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches, is available at caringwell.com.

Evans’s historic project

With the release of the Tony Evans Study Bible last month, the pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas became the first African American to have both a study Bible and a full-Bible commentary with his name. Tony Evans spoke with Religion News Service about the commentary and issues of race and faith, including African presence in the Bible.

“What I want to say to African Americans is if you see what’s really in the Bible, you can find yourself there,” he said. “You don’t have to lose yourself to believe in Jesus. In fact, much of who we are is in Jesus.”

– Christianity Today, Christian Post, Baptist Press, Religion News Service

Mission celebrates 75 years

Friendship House founder also served in East St. Louis

New Orleans | A long-time Southern Baptist ministry celebrated a milestone anniversary this fall, marking 75 years of helping women and children in need.

“Baptist Friendship House is committed to continuing its legacy of meeting needs through love, action, and in truth,” said Kay Bennett, executive director of the New Orleans ministry, at its anniversary celebration Sept. 28. “Sharing Jesus with people in need will always be the top priority of our ministry for generations to come.”

The celebration included Pat Shaffer, daughter of the center’s founders, Henry and Mildred Stein. Shaffer shared memories from the center’s history, including the day the Baptist Friendship House opened in New Orleans’ French Quarter. In an interview with the Illinois Baptist, Shaffer shared her mother’s Illinois connections and legacy of ministry.

Mildred Bollinger went to high school in East St. Louis before moving to New Orleans to study at the Southern Baptist seminary there. She served with that city’s Rachel Sims Baptist Mission before returning to East St. Louis to establish similar ministries there, her daughter said.

Several missions opened their doors in East St. Louis during that time period, many of them connected to Bollinger, said Chet Cantrell, development director for the Christian Activity Center (CAC). In 1950, some of the missions merged to form the Christian

Goodwill Center, now known as the CAC. Bollinger trained several of the missionaries who served for years at the CAC, Cantrell said. She also married the community’s postmaster, Henry Stein. Mildred Stein was eventually invited by Southern Baptist missions leaders to move back to New Orleans, where Baptist Friendship House opened in 1944. When she was growing up around the mission, Shaffer said, the center hosted a kindergarten, boys’ and girls’ clubs, and a weekly prayer meeting. Today, the ministry still serves families, but many are desperately in need of help or rescue.

The center received a 2018 award from the FBI for its work to prevent human trafficking, an effort Illinois Baptists have supported by sending mission teams to New Orleans. The ministry also supports women and children in transition by providing housing, job training, and education in computer skills and reading. More than 100 women are enrolled in the center’s weekly Bible study.

At the anniversary celebration, Bennett praised all who had come before her and noted that while much has changed since the center’s earliest days, the mission remains the same.

“We still let anybody walk through our doors,” Bennett said. “It does not matter where they’ve been, what they’ve done, or what’s going on in their lives, we love them.”

– With reporting from Louisiana’s Baptist Message

posted every Tuesday at www.ib2news.org.

FOUNDERS DAY – At the 75th anniversary celebration of Baptist Friendship House in New Orleans, Pat Shaffer (second from right) shared memories of her mother, who directed the mission’s work for several years after it opened in 1944. Mildred Bollinger Stein (above) also started ministries in East St. Louis, where the Christian Activity Center still serves families today.

BENNETT

STEIN

EVANS

Selfless in a ‘selfie’ world

AWSOM urges young women to serve others

Springfield | A capacity crowd gathered at the IBSA Building in November for the largestever AWSOM event for young women. The annual meeting (which stands for Amazing Women Serving Our Maker) includes training in evangelism and discipleship, focused Bible study, and a missions emphasis.

“Our theme was how to live selflessly in a selfie world,” said Carmen Halsey, who leads women’s ministry for IBSA. Betsy Bolick, founder of Small Enough Ministries, taught the girls through the book of 2 Timothy. Born with a condition that affects spinal development, the North Carolina women’s ministry leader now shares her story to encourage other women and invite people to experience Christ’s love.

AWSOM included more than 350 attenders representing more than 50 churches, including at least 15 who were participating for the first time, Halsey said. The gathering also included a training track for student leaders.

During the missions emphasis, guest speaker Jonathan Miller spoke to teens and their leaders about the need for the gospel among deaf communities around the world. Miller, whose parents are deaf, said

there are 700 million deaf people around the world, representing 189 unique people groups and 200 sign languages.

The weekend retreat is designed to send students and leaders home with resources and ideas for future ministry in their local communities. Noting there is no deaf church in Illinois, Halsey said, “We have resources now ready to help churches to be able to incorporate a deaf community into what they’re already doing.”

Her team is developing an online AWSOM community to offer further training in missions, discipleship, and leadership. IBSA’s Mobilization Team will also offer a Next Gen Academy that will culminate in a mission trip. More information about those and other upcoming opportunities for students will be available at IBSA.org/students.

Since AWSOM has outgrown its Springfield location, Halsey said the conference will move to a new site next year.

AWSOM 2020 is Nov. 6-7.

– Meredith Flynn

Strength in numbers

Youth Encounter tells students, ‘You are not alone’

O’Fallon | Students across Illinois are seeking to live for Jesus each day, said John Howard, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Marion. Youth Encounter, IBSA’s annual one-day student event, is a reminder that they’re not taking the journey alone.

Howard organized the last of three Youth Encounter sites for 2019 at First Baptist Church in O’Fallon on Nov. 10. Earlier events were Oct. 13 in Decatur and Marion.

“Our approach to YE Metro East was to connect with every kind of student attending,” Howard said. Guest speaker Chad Poe preached a clear gospel message tailored to unbelievers, he said, and also challenged Christians to walk more faithfully with Jesus.

“His messages were powerful and engaging,” said Mike Brockmeier, minister of youth at Calvary Baptist Church in Edwardsville. Brockmeier recounted some encouraging quotes that stuck with him. “We are not just saved from something...we are saved for something! We are sent to tell the world!”

Poe, an evangelist and pastor based in Texas, also told students: “Jesus doesn’t just give us what we need. He is who we need.”

In O’Fallon, comedian Jonnie W and worship leader Sean Curran of Passion also entertained and encouraged students. “The songs we sang were gospel-centered and God-honoring,” Brockmeier said, “and Sean and his team led us with passion and authenticity.”

Howard said Youth Encounter is a prime opportunity for students from many churches to be reminded they’re not alone in seeking to honor Jesus in their everyday lives. “There are students all over our state seeking to do the same.”

Youth Encounter 2020 is scheduled for Oct. 11 in Marion and Decatur, and Nov. 8 in O’Fallon.

PRAYERFUL MEETING – AWSOM participants heard from Carrie Jones (above) on reading God’s word, and learned some sign language during a missions emphasis on deaf people groups.

“Our outgoing IBSA President gave us a strong and heartfelt message of hope and inspiration to take home with us! Thank you, Pastor Adron!”

– Rick Dorsey, pastor, Beacon Hill Missionary Baptist, Chicago Heights

“Two fine years of service to Illinois Baptists. Thank you.”

– Mark Carpenter, pastor, Bethel Baptist Church, Danville

“Adron has been a great blessing to Illinois Baptists. We were blessed to have him in our pulpit at Steeleville, and we know he and Veronica will continue to reach many people with God’s love in the days to come.”

– Scott Foshie, IBSA revitalization director

“We are grateful to call him friend.”

– Kim Morrow, First Baptist Church, Petersburg

reporter’s notebook

And here’s to you, Dr. Robinson

Adron Robinson concluded his term as IBSA President with his usual aplomb and a firm tapping of the gavel to close the 2019 Annual Meeting. In that moment, we were reminded of his contributions to the leadership of the Illinois Baptist State Association and to the Southern Baptist Convention in the four years he has served as IBSA Vice President, then President.

So, here’s to you, Dr. Robinson, for skillfully guiding the annual meetings, both with humor and with grace. We remember how you donned the stove pipe hat and talked with the Abraham Lincoln impersonator in 2018, as we observed the 200th birthday of Illinois statehood. And we acknowledge gratefully this year your report on actions by the SBC and IBSA to encourage our churches to prevent sexual abuse and to minister in its wake. We didn’t know when you were elected that you would also represent Illinois on the Executive Committee, or how that assignment would place you at the center of the action as Convention leaders faced their greatest challenge in recent memory—to address abuse in the #metoo era, while respecting

Southern Baptist polity and local church autonomy.

We also didn’t know you would be selected by your fellow trustees on the Executive Committee to serve on the search team formed after the sad departure of Frank Page as president and CEO of the SBC’s guiding and coordinating panel. In that role, you and the team unanimously agreed on Ronnie Floyd as God’s man for the challenge of leading the SBC in those 363 days per year when the Convention itself is not in session. We appreciate that.

And we must express our gratitude to your wife, Veronica, and your church, Hillcrest Baptist in Country Club Hills, for supporting your work, even when it required many trips to Springfield and Nashville and considerable time away from your ministry in the Chicago suburbs. Their sacrifice was a blessing to Illinois Baptists.

As we saw the photo of you standing in the exhibit hall at Cornerstone Church in Marion, alongside incoming IBSA President Sammy Simmons, we were reminded to pray for our new leadership team. Simmons is a proven leader as pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton. He is presently serving as a trustee for the North American Mission Board. And he will be making a lot of trips to Springfield.

We wish the best to both of you.

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CULTURE IS CHANGING

IN FOCUS

A Christmas Essay

What the world

BY ERIC REED

Tourists packing into the tiny mausoleum at Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy must be disappointed at first. Billed as the most spectacular and best-preserved mosaic in Christendom, the ceiling depicts Jesus surrounded by sheep in a green pasture. Travel guides and academics alike hail its artistic beauty. The mosaic was commissioned by a Roman emperor for his sister’s burial place 1,500 years ago, so you can imagine no expense was spared.

But tourists packed into the space block the narrow windows, and it’s almost impossible to see the mosaic. Straining into the darkness as their disappointment sinks in, the pilgrims are suddenly blinded by brilliant light and rich colors of the pastoral scene dazzle their senses. Someone has dropped 300 lira into the coin box; the spotlights have popped on. Their eyes dart about seeking where to focus—sky, star, sheep, Jesus—for a few seconds. Then darkness again, deeper than ever.

A coworker of mine at a pastor’s magazine included a version of that story in a preaching

article a dozen years ago. I have thought of it on occasion, usually after a midnight toe-stubbing in a pitch-black room. If only someone would drop in another 300 lira and rescue me from this darkness.

I’ve had the same thought about the world in recent years—politically and culturally. The postmodern era is proving to be no great enlightenment. Headlines on the news feeds serve mostly to prompt head shakes and tongue clucks, and the wonder, Can it get any worse?

At times, what Paul called “this present darkness” in the first century seems to be just as present in the twenty-first. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens” (Ephesians 6:12).

Some days it seems not a lot has changed since then. And we could go back further.

Long before Jesus’ birth, the Egyptians and the peoples living in Canaan sought to explain the

Greatest Storycloth Ever Told

This storytelling cloth is designed to share Christ with unreached people groups, starting with Genesis and working up to the birth, crucifixion, resurrection, and second coming of Jesus. Available from wmustore.com.

On the Cover:

The nativity painting on page 1 is by Heidi Malott, an Indiana artist. The 6x6 in oil is also featured on the IBSA Christmas card.

8

Christ, whose glory fills the skies Christ, the true, the only Light, Sun of Righteousness, arise, Triumph o’er the shades of night; Dayspring from on high, be near, Daystar, in my heart appear.

Dark and cheerless is the morn Unaccompanied by Thee; Joyless is the day’s return, Till Thy mercy’s beams I see, Till Thou inward light impart, Glad my eyes, and warm my heart.

Visit then this soul of mine, Pierce the gloom of sin and grief; Fill me, Radiancy divine, Scatter all my unbelief; More and more Thyself display, Shining to the perfect day.

physical world with a troop of gods each responsible for an aspect or two of nature and the weather, but their gods proved to be angry failures unable to control even their own supposed creation, or to alleviate their subjects’ suffering in cycles of flood and drought, plague and destruction.

Rather than seek out the true God who truly is over all, they turned to other gods and more gods. The gods multiplied and specialized under the Greeks and later the Romans, but the panoply did not brighten the heavens and mountain tops where they lived. Theirs was endless revelry celebrating their most wicked natures, blind to their own debauched state.

In the time leading up to Jesus, the strict religion of the Jews served to show the complete depravity of humanity and the ultimate inability of man to assuage the due wrath of Deity or to atone for man’s own iniquity. The Law existed to prove we are unable keep the Law.

It was a dark time.

In some way, darkness has characterized every age, beginning with creation when darkness was over the face of the deep.

The Dark Ages, so named in retrospect, saw the retreat of religion and the near death of knowledge in the Western world. The Middle Ages were little better, except that their failures were better catalogued. The Renaissance promised advance, but The Enlightenment served mostly to question faith more than bolster it. And the accomplishments of mankind became the impetus for many to celebrate themselves, rather than the God who made it all possible.

Great cathedrals were built with purgatory payments, and empires were borne on the backs of poverty. Louis XIV declared himself Sol, the Sun God. There were few courageous enough to refute it, except from the blackness of their solitary cells. The Huguenots, like the Puritans, were persecuted in their time for bearing the gospel truth and shedding its light on the evils of their society and religious hierarchy. (Sol, indeed.)

Even the modern era, which was supposed to bring truth to light and lasting peace to man’s war with himself and with others, has instead produced civil wars, world wars, cold war, culture war, drug war, genocide, infanticide, and ISIS. The world seems dark—even now.

In fact, scientists have discovered a galactic darkness so dark that it feeds on light. Black holes in remotest space so deep that their depth cannot be fathomed. Black holes without bottoms.

But into this cosmos, Jesus still declares, “I am the light of the world.”

It is a cosmic reality so profound, so deep, so universe altering, that even our brightest minds can hardly grasp it. Many can’t.

What light is capable of breaking through dark matter, dark minds, dark hearts, dark sin, dark failure?

What light is there that cannot be overcome by these great and terrible darknesses?

Only the light of Christ.

Here I am

“Light of the world, you stepped down into darkness...” the popular worship song says. And lit it up, we could add.

“In him was life, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:4-5). This is a bold statement coming from John in the first century. The light was victorious, triumphant, undefeated. Some translations say the darkness did not “comprehend” the light, and certainly that is true.

C.S. Lewis borrowed an allegory from Plato and used it to explain a Christian truth. He tells of people who lived in a cave. All they knew of reality was shadows

on the wall cast by a light source behind them. It was a campfire in Plato’s version, and these people were confined to chairs since childhood, not allowed look around or behind them. What they saw were only hints of what was out there. Confined to this darkened cave, they had no way to measure whether what they imagined might be true. Shadows were all they knew.

That is man in his unregenerate state, seeing only shadows of the truth, unable to determine what is reality. And the same may be said of the whole world before the advent of Christ. To a culture bumbling along with its multiplicity of angry, failing, self-absorbed deities, Yahweh sent a word of hope—many prophecies, in fact—glimpses of a brighter future.

Isaiah’s prognosis sums it up well:

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness” (Isaiah 9:2). Did the shepherds on a hillside outside Bethlehem know their Scriptures well enough to understand that Isaiah’s prophecy was happening to them when an angel praise band fractured an inky sky and made their holy declaration?

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11 KJV). We often hear that shepherds were the lowest rank in their society, but many Jewish boys went to Hebrew school (or, as they called it, school). Maybe one among them knew the prophecy from 700 years earlier that connected God’s promised One to light itself. But whether or not they comprehended it at that moment, they witnessed the cosmic miracle. “The true light that gives light to everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9).

The Messianic prophecy was all about light, and the announcement was made in heavenly light. “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” With that contemporary songwriter mentioned earlier, we would say, “Open my eyes, let me see.”

Brilliant guidance system

British composer Tim Hughes says he was praying over a few verses of Philippians 2 when the stanzas to “Here I Am to Worship” came to him rather quickly. But then the writing stopped. He asked himself what his response should be to this incredible, selfless act on the part of Jesus. He left the glory of heaven, all rightly his own, to bring his light to earth. Surely there must be a chorus for this song.

Six months later Hughes returned to the verses with an answer: “Here I am to worship, here I am to bow down...” And we sing it in many churches on many Sundays. Hughes’s popular song has stayed in the top twenty worship songs for going on twenty years.

The Magi beat Hughes to the answer 2,000 years earlier.

Following the star a great distance, they arrived in a tiny nowhere town and discovered the birthplace of the Savior well marked from above. The Psalmist had promised that the word of God would light the path of the pilgrim like a lamp on a roadway (Psalm 119:105). In their case, these wise seekers found not a proverb in general, but a promise in specific that the Messiah would be coming into the world. Herod’s own wise men unwittingly told the travelers where, and starlight took them there.

Their response? Life-changing worship.

Matthew reports because of their concern for Herod’s intentions, they went home “a different way.” We might say Matthew was giving a GPS summary, that the Magi avoided Jerusalem on the return trip, but anyone who has seen the Light and worshipped him can say they also have left the worship experience personally different.

Simeon did.

– Charles Wesley (sung to the same tune as “For the Beauty of the Earth”)

A section of the mosaic ceiling at Galla Placidia in Ravenna, Italy.

A month after Jesus’ birth, Joseph took his fledgling responsibility to the temple for the rite afforded after all firstborn Jewish boy babies. There, Simeon recognized Jesus as “a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and a glory to your people Israel” (Luke 2:32). The aged prophet’s praise inspired dear old eavesdropping Anna, who quickly spread the news that God’s salvation had arrived.

John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, summed up the coming light as he gave a prophecy over his own son, some months before Jesus’ birth:

“Because of our God’s merciful compassion, the dawn from on high will visit us to shine on those who live in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79). Zechariah ties together well the functions of the Light, both dispelling darkness and making clear the pathway to relationship with God the Father.

Jesus himself said it this way: “I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness” (John 12:46).

Turning point

On a slope beside the Sea of Galilee, believed to be one of the lowest mountain summits in the world at negative 75 feet (the whole area is below sea level), Jesus made one of his highest declarations: “You are the light of the world.” It seems unlikely. He was speaking to his ragtag followers and the crowd that had gathered with them for his teaching, and perhaps lunch.

Jesus upended two truths with that statement in Matthew 5:14. This group were not only walking in darkness, as Isaiah said, and living in darkness, they were the Hebrew version of what Paul called the Ephesians: darkness itself. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light...” (Ephesians 5:8). Not in darkness, but actually darkness.

Something dramatic happened when the people at Ephesus believed in Jesus. They were no longer darkness; they became light. And the Apostle said that brings new responsibility: If you are light in the Lord, then live like it. Live in the light.

From Jesus, we receive similar marching orders. Live in the light, but also take the light to others. Don’t hide your light, because the attempt is futile. With his familiar comparisons to a basket and a hilltop city, Jesus says the light will be seen and known. That’s its purpose.

And to us, he gives obligation to share the light. By receiving him, we receive duty to be light bearers in a darkened world. Not only is Jesus the Light of the world, we are the light of the world. That is the second truth upended. Jesus is not alone in his light-bearing quest.

I was sitting on the back pew in a dim sanctuary near a squirmy toddler and his mother. We were all waiting for a special service to start. Minutes ticked by. Eventually, the pastor stepped in the door, and into the darkness he boomed, “CHRIST, the LIGHT of the WORLD.” The little boy next to me stood up, threw his arms upward, and repeated in the same cadence, “DA-dee-DA-da-deeDAAAAH!”

Everyone laughed. Their nervous anticipation was over, and celebration erupted. The kid didn’t know the words, but he knew something important had been declared, so he repeated it. Like Anna.

That’s how “I am the Light of the World” becomes “You are the light of the world.” When we repeat this important announcement, the light shines in the darkness. The light spreads to a people who have been sitting in darkness, who in their unregenerate state are darkness itself, until the light shines abroad in their hearts as he, Jesus, has in ours.

That’s what our world needs now.

Eric Reed is editor of Illinois Baptist media.

The images on this page are from the coloring book companion to the storying cloth: angel at creation, prophet dreams of the Messiah, His arrival in Bethlehem. They are provided here for adults and children who are into the current coloring hobby. Get out the crayons and enjoy.

“We also have the prophetic word strongly conf irmed...as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

– 2 Peter 1:19

God redirects building plan

Chicagoland church dedicates ministry center

Carol Stream | A truth from the book of Proverbs guided Crossroads Church’s recent building project: “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps” (Prov. 16:9 NLT).

Three years ago, the church began working with the Baptist Foundation of Illinois (BFI) to plan for an addition that would give them more space for worship, students, and staff. “We quickly realized that we couldn’t afford to build all that we needed,” said Pastor Scott Nichols. “So, we divided up the project into two bite-sized morsels we could digest—ministry center first, worship space later.

“God blessed that redirection.”

On Nov. 10, the Carol Stream church held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and dedication of the 7,800 square foot ministry center, which will provide space for 150 students, 40 adults, and 15 staff members. Nichols said what they initially saw as setbacks, became strengths in the overall process.

“Our people trusted our deliberate process and valued conservative financial management,” the pastor said. “We were able to pay cash for this building because we moved slowly and built trust along the way.

“Now we are in a stronger position for our next project.”

The church plans to work with BFI again next year to build a new auditorium. Nichols encouraged fellow church leaders not to be discouraged when they encounter financial or logistical obstacles to a project.

“God may be redirecting you onto a more fruitful path,” Nichols said. “Remember, it is his church. He loves it more than you do. He knows what is best. Pray. Plan. Trust. Just don’t give up!”

churches

Turkey mishap redeemed

QUICK THINKING – Andy Funkhouser (above), a trustee at First Baptist Church in Grayville, helped facilitate emergency measures before the church’s community Thanksgiving dinner Nov. 13. A last-minute mix-up in the grocery store order required a quick thaw of 22 frozen turkeys, turning the church’s baptistry into what Pastor David Smith called “the turkey lazy lagoon.” The church served more than 500 people at the dinner. “A few gospel conversations were had, so seeds were planted,” Smith said. “It’s touching and humbling to see the hungry fed.”

PACKED HOUSE – Crossroads Church’s new ministry center provides additional space for students and staff, and is the first phase in a two-pronged building process for the Carol Stream church.

SINCE 1919 – Swansea Baptist Church celebrated its 100th anniversary Nov. 3. IBSA’s Larry Rhodes (right) presented a plaque to the church and Pastor Wilson Wickiser, who has led the Swansea congregation 11 years.

TIMELINE – Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church honored Pastor Donald Sharp and his wife, Lurlie, for 55 years of ministry at the Chicago church. Sharp, pictured with his wife and fellow church leaders in Chicagoland, is the church’s founding pastor.

– Submitted photos

– Submitted photo

– Photos from Facebook

Hear them ring

MISSION

Fresh start on a firm foundation

Growing church breathes new life into historic building

BY LISA MISNER

Sublette | Grace Fellowship is a new church with a lot of history. Their building was constructed in 1858 and launched as a Baptist church. Billy Graham even preached there in the 1950s. But to its current congregation, it’s brand new.

At a building dedication in October, the Grace Fellowship congregation was bubbling with excitement. “God opened this door,” said church member Jerry Miles.

“Knowing this was the place God meant for us and for it to become a reality,” said fellow member Alice McGraw, “it just reinforces that he is with us and has been part of it all along.”

It took the congregation a few years to get to Sublette. The church began in 2010 as Grace Fellowship in Amboy, the second church plant in a network that started in Ashton and now also has a site in Davis Junction.

Brian McWethy (center in photo above) is pastor/planter of Grace Fellowship Amboy and an IBSA zone consultant. He told the story of how his congregation moved from one small town to another, just seven miles down the road. “The church sat empty over the last four years,” McWethy said of the

former Sublette Union Church. “And we were meeting in a Farm Bureau building in Amboy.” His congregation was outgrowing their building, and the people in Sublette were getting anxious about their town’s empty church building. “No one wanted to tear this church down,” McWethy said. “They even talked about turning it into a museum. Then people from the town came to Grace Fellowship and said, ‘We see what you’re doing in Amboy and we want you to come here.’”

During this time, the members of Grace Fellowship were working through the “Experiencing God” Bible study and began to feel like God wanted them to look into getting the church building. But then they were offered the option of purchasing the Farm Bureau building in Amboy. They made an offer on the building, but it wasn’t accepted. So, they made an offer on the Sublette church building, which was accepted.

“This is kind of like when the children of Israel were out in the wilderness and God sent them to a place and they wouldn’t do it,” Miles said of the church’s relocation process. “This is God showing us our promised land. We just have to be a willing vessel to be used to by him.”

Bryce Erbes rings the church bell at Grace Fellowship in Sublette, welcoming members and guests to the church’s first worship service at its new location. Erbes’s father also once rang the bell at the historic building, where three generations of his family have worshiped.

Continued from page 11

The church, alive

When the church began renovation work on their new building’s interior, they marveled at what they found. “We pulled out the floors and found the logs that were hand-hewn with square spikes holding them in place,” McWethy said. “The rock foundation was all original.”

Church members don’t want to make any changes that will ruin the historical integrity of the exterior of the building. They are discussing building a 40x50 Morton building for classroom space next to the church.

Before the first service in the new building began Oct. 6, Grace Fellowship held a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Originally, the mayor of Sublette was to do the job, but he had pneumonia and was forced to stay home. McWethy subbed for him. As he cut the ribbon, the pastor declared, “What was dead is now alive!”

As McWethy performed the ribbon-cutting, member Bryce Erbes was inside the church ready to ring the bell to signify the church’s opening and start of service. Erbes is the third generation in his family to attend church in that building. His father used to ring the church bell, and his grandfather rebuilt the steeple platform after it was blown away by a tornado decades ago.

“The history and knowing what it all means… Just to see it alive again means a lot,” he said. “It feels like my family grew up going to church here. I don’t have the words. It’s hard to explain it. It just means a lot to my family and to the town of Sublette.”

McWethy’s dedication day sermon was based on Acts 8:4-12 and titled “The Church Alive.”

“This church was packed with people back in the day,” he said. “God has truly blessed this church over the years. As we look back at the glories, I think it’s great the things that have happened. Here’s the question—what does the future hold?”

As an IBSA zone consultant in northwest Illinois, McWethy sees churches struggle to gain ground there and elsewhere in Illinois. He told

his congregation, “We have 740 churches that are either plateaued or declining. They can only look back at past glories. We’ve had hundreds of baptisms, salvations, and rededications, but we must be focused and intentional. I’m confident God has even greater glories ahead for Grace Fellowship.”

He implored the congregation, “When Jesus looks at us, may he see a church that is alive. A church that is moving forward in Christ and with Christ.”

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First Baptist Church of Atwood, Ill., seeks a full-time pastor, beginning July 15, 2020. The church will receive resumes from Nov. 1, 2019, until Jan. 15, 2020. For detailed profiles of the community and the church, go to firstbaptistatwood.org. Interested candidates should submit resumes to fbcofatwood@ gmail.com.

OPENING DAY – Members of Grace Fellowship gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony prior to the first service at their new “old” building in Sublette. In his sermon, Pastor Brian McWethy shared how the church sat empty for years. “Now it’s alive,” he said to the 100 or so gathered in the pews.

RESOURCE leadership

Take time to mentor teens

This investment will ensure your church’s future

My oldest son showed signs early on that he is a gifted teacher. When he was a teenager, he had opportunities to serve in our church’s youth group. But as his pastor, I missed a strategic opportunity to help him grow.

I should have paired him with that church’s master Sunday school teacher, Miss Norma, in a mentorship that would have let him benefit from her knowledge and experience. My heart hurts when I think about that missed opportunity, and other chances we didn’t take to help adults in our church develop mentoring relationships with younger believers.

As a church leader, you know these kinds of relationships take time to develop, and it can be a lot of work on the front end to even get them started. But research shows us the generation known as Gen Z often defines themselves in terms of accomplishments and future goals. They’re looking for ways to live out their gifting—who better to walk alongside them than leaders in your church who are gifted in the same areas? As mentors, we can remind them that their true identity is in Christ, but we can also help them put their God-given strengths to work in the church.

A recent LifeWay Research study asked parents about their grown children’s spiritual health. According to the research, only 33% of kids regularly serve in church, but those that do so are stronger spiritually as adults. An earlier study, which compared young adults who stayed in church with those who dropped out, found 16% more of those who stayed had regular responsibilities in the church.

Some churches are already doing this in areas like worship and missions. It’s more common to see adult Christians coaching younger believers in worship rehearsal or on a mission trip. But along with those, consider other areas of church life, like teaching or leadership. How can you identify future deacons or elders, and start training them now? Who can you partner with them so they can see what it really means to wisely steward a church’s resources?

Start by identifying adult leaders in your church who can invest some time each week or month in

The Learning curve

When a Nation Forgets God

Erwin Lutzer

Boy, are we there. I grew up in a time of absolutes—good or bad, right or wrong were clearly defined. With the rise of socialism and humanism, we’re left to determine for ourselves what fits in what category.

developing a mentorship. If it’s a teacher like Miss Norma, suggest the teacher-in-training spend some time observing in her classroom. If the mentor is an elder or deacon, encourage the younger church member to watch him in an action at a church business meeting, or to accompany a small group of experienced leaders as they visit newcomers.

Training students for future ministry likely will result in them doing ministry in a church other than yours. Be prepared to make a kingdom investment. Equip students for meaningful, Christ-centered ministry wherever they go, and pray that other churches are doing the same for the young people who will eventually come to your church.

Two LifeWay Research studies on young people and the church may be particularly helpful as your church considers the value of mentorship. Check out “Within Reach: The Power of Small Changes in Keeping Students Connected” and “Nothing Less: Engaging Kids in a Lifetime of Faith,” both available at LifeWay.com.

Jack Lucas is a leadership development director with IBSA. This column is excerpted from the Spring issue of Resource magazine, a training and equipping publication produced especially for Illinois Baptist churches. It is arriving now in church offices and is available online at Resource.IBSA.org.

ReThink

Brad Brisco

The North American Mission Board has several e-books available for free to SBC church leaders. This is one of my favorites.

Pat’s Playbook

In his corner

QThere’s a young fellow who would make a great deacon, but I’m the only one who thinks so. What can I do to help him get elected?

AThe position of a deacon is not something that should be taken lightly (see 1 Timothy 3:1-13). Your church should have a process for nominating qualified candidates, and an interview process to ensure nominees meet the biblical requirements. Discuss your reasons for nominating this individual with your pastor and deacon chairman. Most churches are looking for qualified individuals, and your validation of this person might be the first step in his election.

Weigh the cost

QSome people in my class started talking about using CBD oil. And now they’re saying legal marijuana may not be so bad. Do Baptists have an official position about this?

AI am not aware of an official Baptist position on the use of legalized marijuana. But just because something is legal does not justify its use. Marijuana is a drug, and while there may be genuine medical reasons for it to be prescribed to some individuals, recreational use is very much like alcohol use. (Read 1 Cor. 10:23.) There is a clear warning in 1 Thessalonians 5:22 that instructs believes to “abstain from every form of evil.”

Pat Pajak began his Playbook column in early 2012. As he moves to a parttime zone consultant role with IBSA, we’re thankful for his kind words and good advice over the years, and above all, for his zeal that more people would come to know Jesus.

The Valley of Vision

Edited by Arthur Bennett

This wonderful collection of Puritan prayers reminds me that I am not facing obstacles others haven’t already faced. It reminds me that God is always faithful to those who serve him.

PAT PAJAK

– Carlton Binkley, pastor, Tabernacle Baptist Church, Decatur

– John Yi, IBSA church planting catalyst

– Jacqueline Scott, Dorrisville Baptist Church, Harrisburg namb.net/send-network-blog/ebook-rethink/

“Pleading”

By Louise Webster

My heart is sad and heavy today, I feel like, somehow, I have lost my way.

I cry to the Lord in my despair, Lord where are you? I know you are there.

I cannot see, what must I do? Please answer Lord, oh how I need you.

I am afraid, my heart pounds with fear.

Lord, Lord, I seek you. Are you near?

Touch my heart, Lord, and comfort me.

I beg You Lord to answer my plea.

My way grows brighter, I feel you are near.

I bow before you, and your voice I hear.

Thank you Lord, for your loving hand.

My problems of today I now can withstand.

– Louise Webster is a member of Lincoln Southern Baptist Church.

Too tired to quit

nd if you don’t like it, there’s the door!” Those words spoken from the pulpit by a ministry colleague introduced me to pastoral burnout. After delivering that doozy of a sermon, he broke down sobbing. After a month away from ministry and a year rebuilding spiritual, emotional, and physical strength, he had decades of effective ministry. But it was almost over before it began.

The most serious burnout I have ever faced happened in my current ministry the summer after we finished our first building, a multi-purpose gym/sanctuary. We celebrated the completion of our new building just in time for the Great Recession of 2008-09. My expectations of a new season of prosperous ministry ran into

Telltale signs

Isolation

Feeling overcommitted or fatigued, avoiding people.

Procrastination

Starting late and pushing the deadlines, especially on message preparation. That results in more stress and guilt, and steals fruitfulness.

Impatience

Little delays and irritations that should be sanctifying experiences bring anger, rather than humor.

Temptation

Private failure that destroys effective ministry. Satan’s ploy when I struggle with bitterness or resentment.

the reality of tight finances (I had to wait for payroll a time or two) and staff turnover. We had a new building with almost no furniture (we had to rent metal folding chairs to hold services) and a gym with no equipment. That’s when the call came in from our bank.

For two years we had counted on the release of a construction performance bond related to wetlands. We had tens of thousands of dollars earmarked for furniture, basketball hoops, and volleyball equipment. Now, I learned that the county wanted to hold the money for another year. I hung up the phone, looked around, and took out paper to write my resignation, the only time I’ve ever done that. I was beaten. (I didn’t send the letter.)

Burnout is not new. The Apostle Paul wrote of being “so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.” He went on to complain of the “daily pressure on me of my anxiety for the churches” (2 Corinthians 1:8, 11:28).

Luther was well known for his melancholy. Charles Spurgeon wrote knowingly of the “minister’s fainting fits.” Recent suicides by prominent pastors point to the reality of emotional pressure for those who serve. And how many seemingly effective pastors have failed out of ministry because they responded to the pressures of ministry in unhealthy, even destructive ways?

I don’t have a silver bullet for ministry burnout. There isn’t one. But here are strategies that have helped me stay positive in ministry for three decades.

Pay attention to your spiritual life. We deal with the things of the Lord so relentlessly that we can neglect our own spiritual care. Paul counseled young pastor Timothy, “keep a close watch on yourself” (1 Timothy 4:16).

Stay active. I go to the gym weekly. A vibrant walk with the Lord and regular exercise may be the two most important elements for longevity in ministry.

Be honest. We must be able to face the messy world of ministry. I warn every new staff member that we will deal in the reality of ministry. I promise to tell them the truth. It’s up to them to deal with it.

Pursue friends. Don’t sit alone and sulk. It doesn’t tend toward growth. Find some other minister you enjoy and spend time with them.

Pace yourself. Take a regular day off every week. Do pastors think we can break the fourth commandment with impunity? This is long-term care. We are not automatons; we are human beings who need rest and re-creation.

Grow. Personal devotion and professional training are vital to our spiritual health.

I don’t have all the answers for burnout. But I am committed to finishing well. And, I’ll pay the price to do that, by God’s grace.

Scott Nichols is pastor of Crossroads Church in Carol Stream. A different version of this column appeared on Ed Stetzer’s Exchange blog at Christianity Today.com.

Don’t let burnout sneak up on you.

dave says

Kids and allowances

QIs it okay to give very young children an allowance?

ATeaching kids there’s an emotional connection between work and money is one of the best things you can do as a parent. Once your kids are old enough to do a few simple chores around the house, they’re old enough to earn a little money doing them.

In my mind, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with putting kids who are three or four on a basic commission system. If they do the jobs you assign them, they get paid. If they don’t do the jobs, they don’t get paid. We put a little dry-erase board on the refrigerator, and listed the jobs they had to do during the week with a dollar amount next to each one.

Kids shouldn’t get paid for every little thing they do around the house. Some jobs are just a necessary component of family life. And some things kids should do simply because mom or dad asked them to. Some jobs should have a higher purpose in mind, too, because as a parent, you want to find as many teachable moments for your kids as possible.

Once they’ve earned their money, sit down with them and divide it into three separate envelopes—saving, spending, and giving. That way, they get to learn about the uses for money while they’re learning how to work!

Financial advisor Dave Ramsey is a prolific author and radio host.

Are online banks safe?

QWhat are your thoughts about online banks? Are they as safe as traditional neighborhood banks?

ASure, if they’re guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC is one of two agencies that provide deposit insurance to customers in America’s depository institutions. The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) insures and regulates credit unions.

If you’re seriously considering using an online bank, I’d advise checking it out before making the move. Look into the bank’s track record, and see how long it has been open. Also, if the bank you’re considering doesn’t have a name-brand you recognize, find out the amount of its deposits.

Online banks don’t worry me today like they did 10 years ago. And almost everyone does some form of online banking these days, anyway. If the bank in question has a good reputation, and sufficient deposits to have some strength in its FDIC guarantee, I wouldn’t worry about it.

the counselor

Don’t limit God

QA counselor once encouraged me to build on my strengths, rather than my weaknesses. But isn’t an awareness of my sin part of being a Christian? I want to improve as a husband, father, and a believer. How can I balance building on my strengths while acknowledging my limitations?

AStrength is a gift from God. It seems reasonable and wise to use our God-given strengths and abilities to overcome weakness. Most people coming to a counselor have no problem acknowledging their limitations;

in fact, it’s usually their only focus. If we deny God is working to strengthen us, misery becomes a cold comfort. Your counselor was likely attempting to help you overcome (or avoid developing) a negative bias.

What is negative bias? It develops over time as we focus on, and string together, a series of negative life events. This myopic, “stinking thinking” becomes our God-limiting, self-defeating autobiography. While focusing exclusively on the negative hurtful events in this alternative life story, we become blind to how wonderfully blessed we are. Our hopeful thoughts of peace and gratitude surface just long enough to be quickly drowned out by fear.

Anna First Baptist Church seeks a full-time youth/ music minister for blended worship style. Send application, resumé, and three letters of recommendation to Terry Grissom, Anna First Baptist Church, 409 Morgan St., Anna, IL 62906, or terrygrissom3@gmail.com.

Argenta Baptist Church seeks a bivocational pastor. We prefer a blended style of worship; beautiful and spacious parsonage available. Send resumés to Search Committee, Attn: Mark A. Roberts, P.O. Box 90, Argenta, IL 62501.

Cornelia Avenue Baptist Church in Chicago seeks a bivocational pastor with a seminary background, strong leadership, and outreach skills. E-mail resumé and statement of faith to corneliabaptistchicago21@ yahoo.com, or send to Pastor Search Committee, Attn: Cliff Osuji, P.O. Box 1993, Chicago, IL 60690.

First Baptist Church, Dupo seeks a part-time youth minister for development of junior high/high school ministries. Also seeking a part-time worship leader for Sunday morning and evening services and adult choir. Send resumés to FBC Dupo, P. O. Box 219, Dupo, IL 62239, or email fbcdupo@htc.net, Attn. Pastor.

Waldo Baptist Church in Metropolis seeks a part-time or full-time youth pastor. Mail resumés to 6970 Waldo Church Rd., Metropolis, IL 62960.

Westview Baptist Church in Swansea seeks a senior pastor for elder-led congregation 15 minutes from St. Louis. We seek a seminary graduate, with theology based in the Baptist Faith and Message and 3-5 years of experience as a pastor. Send resumés to Pastoral Search Team, 2500 Sullivan Dr., Swansea, IL 62226 or info@westviewbaptist.net.

Steeleville Baptist Church seeks a full-time pastor Multi-generational church has experienced substantial growth over the last several years. Candidates must affirm BF&M (2000) and support SBC cooperative ministry. Additional info at steelevillebaptist.com. E-mail cover letter/resumé to steelevillepastorsearch@gmail. com or contact Mark Bradley at (618) 201-3768.

Sterling Baptist Church in Fairview Heights seeks a bivocational pastor. Send resumés to Marjorie Reith, search committee chair, at mareith1@att.net, or mail to 1804 Creekside Dr., Swansea, IL 62226.

First Baptist Church, Tinley Park, seeks a part-time pastor associate. Contact Pastor Harold Parsley at (815) 258-1357.

Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Roodhouse seeks a part-time/bivocational lead pastor. E-mail resumés to Phbcsearch2020@gmail.com.

People with a negative bias may also mislabel their every human struggle as sin. The familiar verse Romans 3:23 states, “For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.” Dan Doriani of Covenant Seminary makes this helpful observation. “There are two points here: we are all sinners, and, we are all inglorious.”

While all sin is inglorious, not all ingloriousness is necessarily sinful. Much of our grief, illness, and human frailty is simply inglorious. The takeaway is this: We have all sinned more than we know, and, God’s grace is too deep to fathom.

Trusting God and daily accepting his gift of grace, while leaning on his strength, is our best defense against sin, and our only hope for change. He is the strength we build upon. As the old hymn states, “All other ground is sinking sand.”

Mark McCormick is director of clinic operations for Illinois Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services. Send questions for Mark to IllinoisBaptist@IBSA. org.

DAVE RAMSEY

McCORMICK

THE NEW REALITY

Who do you trust?

January 13, 16, 28

Tax Seminars

What: Valuable tax info for current and retired ministers, treasurers, and other church leaders

Info: TammyButler@IBSA.org

January 13: Gateway Association, Edwardsville

January 16: IBSA Building, Springfield

January 28: Second Baptist, Marion

January 21-23

Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield Info: MWAdvance.org

February 6

iConnect: IBSA/Pastors Meet-Up

What: Introduction to IBSA staff, ministries, training, and opportunities, for pastors and church staff members

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield Register: AubreyKrol@IBSA.org

February 22

Church Technology Conference

What: Learn how to use worship technology to unite believers in corporate worship.

Where: IBSA Building, Springfield

March 7, 14, 28

VBS Clinics

What: Training, ideas, and inspiration for 2020 Vacation Bible School

Where: Six locations around the state; details coming soon

March 17, 31

Training Night

What: Free, quality church leadership training in topics including discipleship, missions, age-graded ministries, worship, and more March 17: Journey, East Peoria March 31: Emmanuel, Carlinville Info: TammyButler@IBSA.org

April 24-25

• Crowne Plaza Hotel, Springfield

To register go to

IBSA.org/Priority

Religious leaders fared OK in a recent survey on Americans’ trust for public figures, but not as well as they used to.

Pew Research called the results in five areas of clergy trust “in general… positive,” but it is noteworthy that pastors are now in the middle of the pack with journalists. Heads of technology companies and members of Congress fared worse in the public’s estimation of their job performance and ethical behavior.

75% of U.S. adults say religious leaders do a good job providing for the spiritual needs of their communities “all or most” or “some of the time,” while just 23% say religious leaders do this only a little or none of the time.

Respondents said some, all, or most of the time, religious leaders

Provide spiritual care 76%

Care about people like you 70%

Handle resources responsibly 68%

Provide fair/accurate info 63%

Admit mistakes 50%

“To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.”

Better educated respondents and older people gave higher marks. People active in church life were mostly like to grade church leaders high, while those who were unaffiliated rated them lowest. For example, Do religious leaders do a good job providing for the spiritual needs of their communities? Responding some, most, or all of the time:

90% of evangelicals

65% of unaffiliated

Evangelicals reported higher approval of church leaders’ job performance in all five areas than did Christians overall, Mainline Protestants, or Catholics.

– Pew Research (Oct. 2019)

– George MacDonald 19th century Scottish pastor

1,100 leaders from eight Baptist state conventions across the Midwest will gather in Springfield for focused equipping.